Playing Games
by ELFer Mara
Summary: An Old enemy of Lucas' kidnaps him. (This is a repost from my previous Authro account)


Playing Games by Mara 

Disclaimer: I don't own them and never will. Well I do own Shadow Man and his goons, but no one else. This was the first ELF I ever wrote. It has some errors, and I might have the time frame for when Nathan left the Navy off, but it was my first attempt. Cut me a little slack. And Silver9, if you are reading this, stop now. If you are 11 you have no business reading an R rated fic like this. None at all. And I messed up the first time I sent this, it should be okay now. 

"What could be taking him?" Katie Hitchcock asked. The SeaQuest's crew had been waiting for Lucas Wolonczak to meet them for over two hours. It was the last day of shore leave and the senior staff had gathered at Katie's apartment to celebrate the fact that they were going back to work. Two weeks off was fun, but three was boring. 

Ben Kreig looked around the room. He was starting to get worried, and he could see the other's were too. "I don't know. Maybe he got caught up in some new computer program. Or maybe he got a hot date and decided to ditch us for her." 

Nathan Bridger turned and glared at Ben, "You know he wouldn't just ditch us. he'd at least call." Kristen Westphalen sighed, "Why don't we call him at home. Ben might be right. Lucas may have just gotten caught up in a new project. He has been known to do it before." Katie smiled at gratefully at Kristen. 

"That's a great idea. I'll call." Katie walked over to her phone and had just placed her hand on the reciever when it rang. She jumped back and everyone started to laugh. "Ha. Ha." Katie laughed dryly. She picked up the phone and said hello. She wasn't surprised to here Lucas's voice on the other end, but the terror in his voice did surprise her. 

"Katie! I...these two guys tried to grab me, but I got away. Katie...I think they're coming back. If they here me talking, they'll find me. I..." 

Katie cut him off, "Lucas just put the phone down, but leave it on. We'll be quiet don't worry it'll be alright." 

Lucas was silent for a moment, then he answered, "Okay, but make sure everyone stays quiet." The line went silent as Lucas set it down. 

Katie quickly relayed Lucas' message to the others. They all fell silent and listened to what was going on. over the line they heard a muffled sound, then suddenly out of nowhere came a horrific scream. The line went silent again, except for muffled sounds like laughter. Katie muted the phone. Everyone was in shock. Did they hear what they thought they heard? Had someone attacked Lucas? 

Lucas woke in a dark room. He was laying on a large bed. 'Alright. This isn't either the SeaQuest, or my hotel room, so where am I?' He slowly stood up swaying slightly with pain that radiated from the back of his skull. The last thing he clearly remembered was talking to Katie. As he looked around the room he noticed light streaming in through the curtains. When he reached the them he pulled the curtain open and was greeted by a view of the ocean. He seemed to be on the third floor of a house on the beach. The coastline was rocky so even if he could get out of the house he couldn't get away by the water. As he turned he became more and more frightened. In one corner chains were sticking out of the ceiling. When he turned back to the bed he saw the restraints attached to each corner. "Oh, God. What are they going to do to me?" He whispered to him self. He turned again, fighting down his nasuea as he saw who was standing in the doorway. "Oh my god!" He started backing away but knew there was no place to hide. Not from this man. 

Lucas' back hit they wall and he wished he could melt into it. He knew if this man got near him he'd be dead. "What do you want?" Lucas asked quietly, trying to keep his voice from shaking. 

The man smiled. His harsh voice answered, "You ruined my career. Now I'm going too destroy you. I'm going to slowly destroy your mind. Break it down into tiny pieces. Pieces so small no one will ever be able to put it back together. I'll start by showing you what is happening to your friends. How scared they are for you. How much your upsetting them. And you should know that even if you live long enough for them to find you, they won't want you anymore. They won't want a pyscotic on their ship." 

Lucas couldn't stop the tears from rolling down his cheeks, he tried his best to keep his voice even when he responded, "That's not true. The do care. It won't matter. They won't abandon me." 

The man laughed, "Why not? Your parents did." Lucas could not hold in the sobs any longer. 

Part Two 

The crew was in panic. It had been two days since they had found Lucas' cell phone in an alley, on the ground near it was a large pool of blood. Kristen had tested it and they knew it was Lucas'. They didn't know where he was or if he was still alive. 

"We have to keep hope alive. He may be alright. The worst might be he's scared. We have to pray he's alright." Tim was trying to stay optimistic but he was just as scared as eveyone else. They had all heard Lucas scream, but that doesn't mean he's... No he's not dead. He's fine. The whole crew was thinking the same thing. 

Nathan couldn't helping thinking of how sarcastic Lucas was when they first met. Ben was remembering Lucas teasing him about eating dead cow. Ford was thinking of when he had to dive into the ocean to save Lucas from drowning. Tim was remembering how they once found Lucas and several world delagates because of Lucas' walkman. Everyone hoped they would find the teenager soon. 

God. That scream couldn't have been the men killing Lucas. It couldn't. The teen meant to much to all of them, but especially to the captain and doctor. Lucas was like a son to both of them. If they lost him...Tim couldn't finish the thought because the phone rang. 

"Captain!" Ford yelled, "It's for you." Ford sounded almost frightened. The whole crew stood up and ran into the kitchen. 

When Nathan reached the phone he was greeted by a black screen. In a moment the view changed to show Lucas standing against a wall with a look of pure terror on his face. A man's voice said, "Take a good look Bridger. You may never see him in one piece again." The crew didn't understand why, but the captain had blanched the moment he heard the man's voice. 

The seaQuest's crew stood watching in horror as Lucas started sobbing uncontrollably. All they wanted was to find him and let him know it was alright, but they couldn't. They had no idea where he was, or even if this was recorded and he was already dead. Tim sat down heavily in one of the nearby chairs. He grasped his cross and began to pray. 'God, let Lucas be alright. Help us find him before it's too late!' Tim thought. He didn't realize it but that prayer was being echoed by everyone in the room. 

After a few minutes the Shadow Man left. Lucas, however, continued to sob for almost an hour. He had thought the man would be in prison for years to come! How did he get out so soon?! Lucas couldn't help thinking about the last time he had seen the Shadow Man. 

~~~FLASHBACK~~~ 

"We the jury find the defendent, Rupert Corbin, guilty of first degree murder." Twelve year-old Lucas let out the breath he had been holding. It was finally over. Corbin could never hurt anyone again. He would be in jail for years. 

Lucas looked up as the Judge began to speak, "I was appalled to here the testimonies of your victims, Mr. Corbin. Testing highly addictive drugs on innocent children is the worst crime I could imagine. I just hope the ones who survived your experiments will be able to return to a normal life." The Judge Looked over towards Lucas and his friend, the only other survivor of Corbin's experiments, fifteen year-old Melanie Walters. "I feel the two of you are very strong children. I hope you can get past this and go on with your lives. You are both very intelligent young people. Good luck in your future." The Judge smiled at them again before leaving the courtroom. 

Lucas looked at Melanie and saw she wasn't paying attention. When he followed her gaze he saw Corbin glareing at them. As the man walked by he hissed "I will get you for this. You will pay. When ever you feel safest the Shadow Man will be back!" Corbin had called himself the Shadow Man for a long time, Lucas guessed it was because he hid in the shadows all the time. 

~~~END OF FLASHBACK~~~ 

After a moment Lucas remembered that he had recieved a message just a few days ago from Melanie's mother. Mel had committed suicide. She had over- dosed on a designer drug. Lucas had believed Mrs. Walters, but now he wasn't so sure. Corbin could have done it. He was a drug expert after all. Lucas wondered, again, what Corbin was going to do to him. Was he going to use PC468 again? Lucas shuddered at the thought. That had felt like it was burning him from the inside out. Most of the others had died after just a few doses. Lucas, Mel, and Kelly were the only ones to survive it. Kelly had been killed two weeks later after a dose of RG296. That had left just two. After Kelly died Mel had come up with the escape plan... 

~~~FLASHBACK~~~ 

Lucas and Melanie were standing in Lucas' room at Parkview mental health clinic. "Lucas! It may be our only chance! Do you want to die here like Mikey and Kelly?!" fourteen year-old Mel whispered harshly. 

Eleven year-old Lucas looked up at his friend. he sighed and shook his head, "No. But if we get caught..." He broke off as tears began running down his thin face. 

Mel pulled him into a hug. She held him for a moment before holding him at arms length. "Lucas, we have to try. If we stay here we'll die anyway! Wouldn't you rather dying trying to get away, trying to stop Shadow Man, than die from his latest cocktail?" Mel asked softly. When Lucas nodded again she continued, "Good. We'll make our break tommorrow at midnight. Good Night shorty." 

Lucas smiled at his best friend, "Yeah, Night." 

The next night they had left behind the hospital forever. They went to the police and told their story. When the cops went and checked it out they had found Corbin injecting something into a new patient. 

~~~END OF FLASHBACK~~~ 

Lucas cried softly. He cried for the friends he had lost to Corbin's experiments. For Mikey, Kelly, and Mel. He also cried for himself, because he knew he would never leave this house alive. He also cried because he knew Shadow Man might be right. The crew wouldn't want a phsyco on the SeaQuest. They would probably put him in a hospital, just like his parent's had. He only hoped they would forgive him once they knew the truth. 

Lucas had sat crying on the floor for several hours before Shadow Man came back with three goons following close behind. The two biggest of the men picked Lucas up off the floor and deposited him on the bed. The two held him down while the third fastened the restraints around Lucas wrists and ankles. When he was done the other's let go. 

Shadow Man approached holding a hypodermic needle in his hand. "Well, Lucas, do you remember what PC468 feels like? It works even better now. It hurts more, but does less damage. I know you'll survive this dosage and probably all the others I plan on giving you." Shadow Man smiled slightly as he pushed the needle into Lucas' arm. 

Lucas couldn't stop his scream. It hurt so bad! It always took five minutes to take affect before. Lucas' scream died down into a continueing whimper. After a few more minutes the screams began again. Echoing though the halls. 

Nathan walked along the beach deep in thought. He had refused to tell the other's why the man's voice had frightened him so much. He thought about the man the voice belonged to... 

~~~FLASHBACK~~~ Years Before 

Nathan was standing on a sub's bridge. He looked grim. "Sir! Incoming communication!" the ensign at the comm board called out. Nathan looked over and nodded for it to be put on the main viewscreen. 

"Nathan! You won't fire on me! We're friends! Remember the academy?" 

Nathan glared at the other man, "Yes, I remember. Connor, I still can't let you do this." 

Connor glared back, "You used to agree with me, Nathan. What happened?" 

Nathan's gaze turned harder at the reminder, "Connor, I agreed with you then because I thought you were right. But this is wrong. I can't allow you to continue committing acts of piracy!" 

Connor simply answered calmly, "I am not a pirate, Nathan. I... Liberate funds from those who don't need them and distribute them to those who do." 

Nathan snorted. "You are no Robin Hood, Connor! How many innocent people have you hurt or killed in your 'liberating of funds'? How many?" 

Connor shook his head, "If you won't help, I'll have to destroy you." With that the link was severed. Nathan turned to his weapons officer, "Fire all tubes!" 

The torpedoes had destroyed the sub almost completely. Nathan found out later that Connor had escaped his sub before the impact when the man had sent him a message, 'Someday I will destroy what you hold most dear.' He had never found the man. 

~~~END OF FLASHBACK~~~ 

Now this man, who wanted revenge on Nathan, had Lucas. Nathan knew deep down that it wasn't his fault, but he still felt guilty. Lucas might die because of his previous actions. God! If Colin wanted to destroy what Nathan held most dear he certainly had the right person. Lucas was like a son to him. He only hoped he would have the chance to tell the boy that. Nathan never heard the men behind him. he never even knew they were there until he was knocked to the sand. He rolled over on to his back and managed to kick one his attackers were it counted, but the other one was soon on top of him. The second pulled out a knife and sliced Nathan's face from the cheekbone to the chin. The men wrestled Nathan's jacket off of him and, for some reason Nathan couldn't understand, rubbed it on Nathan's cut face, smearing the jacket with blood. The men stood up and ran to a car. Nathan watched them trying to understand what had just happened. 

Lucas sat crying on the floor. Shadow Man had left him strapped to the bed for almost seven hours before he came back and undid the restraints. Once Shadow Man had left, Lucas had crawled off the bed and sat on the floor. He felt safer there. On the floor he could kick anyone who came near him and there were no straps on the floor. 

Lucas heard the door open, but he pretended not to notice. Shadow Man came over and kneeled down next to the teenager. Shadow Man smiled visciously, "I have something to show you." Shadow Man pushed a piece of cloth in front of Lucas' face. When the teen's eyes focused on the cloth he saw the words 'Captain Nathan Bridger' embroidered on it. Next he noticed the blood covering the cloth. 

Lucas let out a strangled cry. He glanced out the corner of his eye and saw Shadow Man had not brought his goons in with him. Lucas reached up and grabbed Shadow Man by the throat and threw him to the ground. "You are really stupid, Corbin!" Lucas hissed, "You should have known better than to come in alone!" 

Shadow Man looked shocked. He had not expected such a viscious reaction from the teen. Lucas saw a key sticking out of the older man's pocket. Lucas hit the man hard enough to knock him out, then stabbed hte man in the throat with the key.. The teen raced to the window and squeezed between the parrell bars. He stood on the outer window sill for a moment before jumping off the third story ledge heading straight for the rocky ground. 

Nathan was being patched up at a local hospital when he heard Katie scream from the hall. He jumped up and ran out the room despite his doctor's protests. Katie was standing in a doorway down the hall looking like she was about to kill the nurse blocking her way into the room. 

"Katie! What's wrong?!!" Nathan, Ben, and Ford all called out at the same time. 

Katie turned to them, her face pale and her breath unsteady, "Sir, Lucas is in there! I saw them wheel him in! He was covered in blood! His leg was..." Katie trailed off as she broke into sobs. 

Ben gathered his ex-wife into his arms as Nathan forced his way past the nurse and raced to Lucas' side. "Oh, my god!" Nathan exclaimed in shock as he saw Lucas. The teen was soaked to the bone in blood and his leg was twisted at a impossible angle. Kristen rushed in a moment later and started helping the other doctors despite their protests. Finally she snapped "I happen to be his regular doctor! I will be a part of his treatment! Do you understand me?!!" The doctors all looked shocked at her out burst but snapped out of it after a second and nodded. "God! He looks like he jumped out a second story window!" Kristen said as Lucas was being prepped for transfer. 

One of the Paramedics who was nearby spoke up, "Actually the witness's said it was a third story window. And that they had heard screams earlier this afternoon." 

The SeaQuest's crew looked at eachother with obvious wonder in their eyes. Ben was the first to regain his voice, "How could anyone survive a three story fall?" 

"He must have been under the influence of a lot of adrenalin." Kristen answered after a moment. 

The medic spoke up again, "Yeah, that was our guess. The most amazing thing was all the kid kept saying before he passed out was 'He said he killed the captain. I had to kill him to get away.' It was unerving all of us. Oh. Just so you know the police are checking out the house." 

Nathan suddenly realized what his attack must have been about. They wanted his jacket and they wanted blood on it so they could scare Lucas even more! "Kristen? You can stay with him until he wakes up, right?" when Kristen nodded he continued, "I'd stay with him, but if he thinks I'm dead, it might just make things worse to wake up with me next to him." 

Kristen sighed and answered "Of course I can stay with him. I will tell him as soon as I can that your all right so he won't worry. Then you can come in." 

Nathan nodded and turned as he saw a police officer walking up. The man was tall, black man, and he looked a bit foreboding. The officer looked at the SeaQuest crew for a moment, then asked "Are any of you the young man's family?" 

Nathan stepped forward and said "He is under my guardianship. I'm Captain Nathan Bridger." 

The officer looked Nathan up and down before responding "Captain? Might you be the Captain he was so worried about?" Nathan nodded and the officer continued "All right. I guess who ever said they killed you was lying. I'm Officer Jake McCoy. I'm afraid I can't tell you much about the case." 

Nathan sighed and asked "Can you at least tell me if you've arrested anyone?" 

Officer McCoy thought for a moment, considering whetehr he should or not. "We've arrested six people so far and are trying to locate a seventh the other's squealed on." 

Nathan nodded again, "Thank you. I just wanted to be able to give him some good news when he wakes up later." 

McCoy nodded, and commented "I can understand that. I'm guessing You and he have a father-son relationship?" When Nathan nodded McCoy continued, "Then I can understand even more. I knew you must be close because of the horror in the kid's voice when he said the someone had claimed to kill you. Plus the look on your face when I said one was still at large. I have a teenage son, so I can understand perfectly." 

Nathan smiled, "Thank you, Officer McCoy. I really appreciate you telling us what you could. And before you ask, I have contacted his parents but they are too busy to come. They are very busy people." Nathan's last two sentences were filled with obvious bitterness. 

McCoy nodded, "Okay. Can you give me his name and his age? I also need to know were I can find you." 

Nathan answered him quickly, "His name's Lucas Wolonczak, and he's 15. You can find me here at the hospital until Lucas is released. Then we will both be on the UEO SeaQuest." 

McCoy raised his eyebrows, "What is a teenager doing on a UEO sub?" 

Nathan shook his head, "It's a long story. But he's a lot better off on the SeaQuest then in either of his parents' homes, from what I understand." 

McCoy raised his eyebrows again but didn't comment. Just then the stretcher carrying Lucas was wheeled out of the trauma room. Ben looked about ready to throw up when he saw the bruised and battered teen. Katie kept her head turned against Ben's chest. Ben started whispering comforting words to her again, this time though he was obviously trying to calm himself as well. Poor Tim had run to the bathroom after seeing Lucas, and everyone in the hall could hear him retching. Kristen had raced down the hall after the gurney and glanced back before entering the elevator that would take her to the fourth floor and surgey. 

It had taken a while but Nathan had found out the name of the missing man. He had Tim working on finding out what the guy had against Lucas. Nathan looked up as Tim called out. 

"Sir! I found what we've been looking for. Apparently Corbin was a doctor at Parkview Mental Health Clinic. Lucas was a patient there for a little over a year." Tim stopped as he realized what he had just read. "Sir? Did you know...?" Tim let his half formed question taper off as Nathan shook his head and gestured for Tim to continue. By now the rest of the crew had gathered around. Tim sighed and kept reading. "Lucas was admitted for scizophrenia a few months after he turned ten. 14 months later Lucas and a young woman named Melanie Walters had shown up at a police station. They claimed Corbin had been testing drugs on most of the young patients. As proof they had shown the officers the marks left from needles that covered both their arms and legs. When the police went to investigate they found Corbin injecting a new drug into a child. That child died three weeks before the trial. Both Lucas and Melanie Walters testified against Corbin. The testimony was suppossedly horrific, particularly since it was coming from a twelve year-old, and a fifteen year-old. Corbin was sent to jail for ten years with the possibilty of parole after three. Also a nother doctor found that Lucas didn't have schizophrenia, that Corbin had faked the files so that he could have another test subject. My god! I never knew Lucas was..." 

Nathan cut him off, "Does it matter?" He waited until everyone shook their heads, "I didn't think so. Lucas is still the same kid we all loved fifteen minutes ago. The only difference is that now we know why this person wanted to hurt him." 

Ben spoke up first, "The Captain's right. We have to act the same towarsds Lucas when he wakes up as before. Maybe we could write him notes saying how glad we are that he's okay, and that we are here for him?" 

Katie smiled at her ex-husband, "You know, Ben, every once in awhile you come up with a pretty good idea." Ben smiled back. Nathan spoke up then, "I'm going to go get some coffee. If anything important happens come get me. Got it?" When everyone nodded he left. 

Lucas felt the soft sheets covering him and tried to sit straight up, only to have a gentle hand push him back down. Through the haze that was his current state of mind he heard the soft voice, "Lucas? Are you alright? Lucas?" Lucas moaned softly, trying to speak but not forming words. The voice spoke again, "Lucas? It's alright. Your safe now. No one is going to hurt you. Ben, Katie, Tim, and everyone else, are in the hall. They won't let anyone hurt you." This time Lucas recognized the voice and sighed softly. If Dr. Westphalen was here everything must be alright. With that thought he allowed him self to drift back into the darkness. 

Kristen was feeling much better than she had a few moment's ago. Lucas had definitely responded to her voice. He obviously heard at least part of what she had said because of the contented sigh he had let out before drifting off. She smiled and walked out into the hall to tell the other's the good news. "He was semi-conscious for a few moments. He's drifted off again but this is still a good sign. He responded to my voice. Well, to some degree. He seemed to know someone was talking to him, and he seemed to know it was a friend. In time he'll almost certainly be his old sarcastic self again." Kristen smiled weakly at the crew. She recieved their excited grins in return. 

Ben couldn't stop himself from asking "Doc? Can I go sit with him for a while? I think he should here some of our voices too so he knows we're here for him." 

Kristen smiled. "I did tell him all of you were here but he may not of heard the words clearly. I think that's a marvelous idea Mr. Kreig." 

Katie glanced at her ex-husband almost misheiviously, "Alright. Who are you and what have you done with Ben Kreig?" she asked jokingly. 

At Ben and Kristen's confused look Katie continued. "You've had two good ideas in one day. That's not the Ben I know." 

Ben smiled at her, "Yeah, well, I just want to help Lucas, anyway I can." 

Kristen looked from one to the other, and finally asked, "Alright. You've got my interest. What was Ben's other good idea?" Katie looked at Ben, almost lovingly, before answering, "He suggested we each write Lucas a note telling him how glad we are he's okay, and that we will be there for him no matter what." 

Kristen grinned herself, "You know, Mr. Kreig, if your not careful someone might think your a good person." With that Kristen turned and walked down the hall to the cafeteria to tell Nathan the news. She found him in the hospital cafeteria talking to Officer McCoy and a teenage boy. 

"Nathan?" she asked as she approached. He looked up with a bit of a smile on his lips. 

"Kristen. Hi. Let me introduce Jamie McCoy. Officer McCoy's son." 

Kristen smiled and nodded, "Nathan I have some wonderful news! Lucas was semi-conscious for a few moments. It wasn't much, but I am certain he heard my voice and tried to respond. He's asleep again now, Ben's with him." 

Nathan's eyes had lit up when Kristen had said he responded to her voice, "So, does that mean he's starting to wake up?" Kristen sighed and looked at Nathan, "I hope so. Nathan...he may stay unconscious for weeks to come or he may wake up tommmorrow. I just don't..." She was cut off as Ford came barrelling into the cafeteria and over to them. 

"Captain! Doctor! Lucas woke up. All the way! He was actuallly talking to Krieg and Katie when I left!" Kristen and Nathan were both a bit surprised to here such enthusiasism coming from Ford, but they both stood and followed him back to Lucas' room. The McCoys followed as well. 

When they reached Lucas' hospital room, Kristen walked in and the others could here her talking softly. A few moments later they had a soft but persistant voice say, "It's not that I don't believe you, but I want to see him for myself. Please." 

A moment later Kristen came out with an enormous grin on her face. "Nathan, I told him your alright. He insists on seeing you for himself before he'll believe it." 

Nathan stood up and followed her in. It took all his self control not to race over and hug the boy when he saw him. Lucas' softly voice drifted up to Nathan's ears, "Captain? Is that really you?" 

Nathan smiled and moved to chair next to Lucas that Ben had just vacated. "Yeah, it's me, kiddo. How are you feeling?" 

Lucas answered after taking a deep breath, "Well, let's see, I was injected with a highly painful drug. I stabbed a man in the neck because he told me he killed you. Oh. And I jumped out a third story window. What do you think?" 

Nathan's smile got even wider, "Well, I think your getting a lot better. Your being sarcastic already." 

Lucas reached out and grasped Nathan's hand, "Please don't leave me." Lucas' voice was pleading. 

Nathan smiled again and squeezed the boy's hand gently. "I don't plan on going anywhere, anytime soon, kiddo." Lucas let out a soft sigh and laid back down all the way. As he was drifting off he became aware of some of his friends also being in the room. 'Everyone's here'. he remembered Kristen telling him that. With that thought wrapping around him like a blanket, he drifted off to sleep. 

As Lucas slowly became aware of his surroundings he realized the captain was still holding his hand. Lucas smiled softly and opened his eyes. His grin grew even large when he realized that next to the captain was Kristen. He started laughing outright when he realized they were both fast asleep. 

Ben was sitting right outside Lucas' room when he heard the soft laughter he stood up and peeked around the corner. The first thing he saw was Lucas' wide awake and laughing. Then he noticed the cause of the teen's laughter. Both the captain and the doctor were sound asleep. 

Ben quietly came in and got Lucas' attention."Hey. How ya' doing, kid?" He asked softly, not wanting to wake the sleeping beauties. 

Lucas said through his giggling, "Fine. Did they stay here all night?" Ben nodded and said, "The whole senior staff has been here at the hospital since Katie saw them bring you in. We've all been pretty worried. Now I want the truth. How do you feel?" 

Lucas sighed, "Tired. My leg is killing me. I...god," he stopped, his eyes widening as the memory of what he ahd doen came flooding back. "Ben I didn't mean to... but he said he'd killed the captain! I attacked him! I stabbed him in the neck! I almost certainly killed him!" 

Nathan and Kristen both woke up, concerned by the tone of Lucas' voice. Once Nathan Realized what Lucas had said he moved and wrapped his arms around Lucas' thin body. He started talking softly to the teenager, trying to show him it was okay, "You had to attack him. You wouldn't have gotten away if you hadn't. And..." Nathan trailed off not sure wether he should tell Lucas this or not. Finally he decided the teen had a right to know, "Lucas... none of the men they arrested were injured. You couldn't have killed him. They would have found the body in the house. But don't worry. He couldn't get you here even if he tried. The whole senior staff Is right outside. They won't let anyone who would hurt you in. I promise." Nathan stopped talking but he kept his arms tightly wrapped around the boy's shoulders. After a while Lucas sighed and layed his head on Nathan's chest. Within five minutes, he was sound asleep. 

THREE WEEKS LATER 

Lucas was feeling much better, though he was still in alot of pain. He had broken both of his legs in the jump, along with three ribs. Lucas had talked to Officer McCoy and given his statement the day after he woke up. He had also become good friends with Jamie McCoy. In fact Jamie had spent almost every afternoon since they met. The two usually played poker with Ben, Tim and Miguel. Jamie was the only one with him when his e-mail icon popped up. When Lucas opened the e-mail, all color drained from his face. Jamie walked around and looked at the message, his own dark face paling as he read it, before calling the Captain in. When Nathan saw the message the color drained from his face as well and he wrapped his arms around Lucas. Written on the screen in bold type were the words - 

THE GAMES AREN'T OVER YET! THE SHADOW MAN IS NOT DEAD YET! I WILL BE BACK! NEXT TIME I WON'T FAIL TO KILL YOU! NO ONE MESSES WITH THE SHADOW MAN! 

The end ******* 

What do you think of the ending? Built in sequel promise if I ever saw one. 


End file.
